Chili’s cancels today’s autism give-back event

According to the Chili’s website, the give-back autism event for today has been canceled due to client feedback.Chili’s, a national restaurant chain, had scheduled an event to support the National Autism Association. According to an Associated Press report, clients expressed concerns about the anti-vaccine language on the National Autism Association’s website .The event intended to donate a portion of today’s sales to the National Autism Association in support of the clients and employees whose families are affected by autism. Chili’s says they will “find another way to support this worthy effort…”The concerns expressed stem from statements of the National Autism Association’s website, which have been on the page for years, according to Wendy Fournier, president of the association. These statements allude that autism is triggered by vaccinations. This information came from a British study, which has since been retracted.According to CNN Newswire, the Center for Disease Control reported that in the United States, measles has been on the rise. Healthychildren.org reports the rise in measles to be due to parents are holding off on vaccinating their children because of the reports of the British study. In fact, the preservative, thimerosal, which was believed to be triggering the autism beginning in the 1990s has since been removed from the vaccines.

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Lynn Wise, M. Ed., is a grandmother to 3 young children. She is a licensed professional educator with experience as a Level III Early Child Care Administrator. She began her teaching profession in 1993.